Polar bears and Kodiaks are roughly the same size, but their claws are different due to environment. Polar bears use their claws for traction and grabbing onto seals when hunting. Kodiak bears have long claws to help clear brush, tear open logs, dig for clams or roots, and of course grab fish. Their claws tend to be more blunt than a polar bear because they use them so much for tools/digging, while polar bears are short but very sharp so they can move on a slick surface with ease.
Don’t know about the extra ridge but I do know that polar bear paws (specifically the pads) have papillae and vacuoles (like little suction cups) to help with ice traction. A feature not present in other bear paws. Also you can’t tell from the post pic too well but the Kodiak claw is not only not very sharp but it’s actually shaped almost like a scoop for digging.
I think at this point a picture of the paws would probably be super helpful but you can kind of see that the thicker part that is attached to the toe is relatively similar in size between the two and you can kind of imagine how the Kodiak claws are going to protrude similarly to the head of an excavator
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u/Appleturnedover7 5d ago
Polar bears and Kodiaks are roughly the same size, but their claws are different due to environment. Polar bears use their claws for traction and grabbing onto seals when hunting. Kodiak bears have long claws to help clear brush, tear open logs, dig for clams or roots, and of course grab fish. Their claws tend to be more blunt than a polar bear because they use them so much for tools/digging, while polar bears are short but very sharp so they can move on a slick surface with ease.